This post is part of the ongoing series of reading reflections on HCI papers and articles. You can find the other posts ‘here.’
Introduction to the Essential Ideation Techniques which are the Heart of Design Thinking
Available at Interaction Design.
This article introduces a good amount of ideation techniques but stops short of making recommendations or even suggesting which techniques are most appropriate for those situations. It would be helpful to have a bit more guidance on that front. Some of the common themes in the techniques discussed are
- solving the opposite problem. For example, the anti-problem technique, or the “what if” technique, where teams decide to solve the opposite of the problem they’re trying to solve. This is a good technique for getting teams to think outside the box.
- empathizing Almost all of the techniques involve some form of empathizing with the user. This is to ensure that the team is solving the right problem and that the solution they come up with is helpful to the user.
I found almost all of the techniques very interesting, but I am unsure when and for what problem I would use each. I also felt some techniques were the same as others, but with a different name—for example, the “what if” and “provocation” techniques seem to be the same. I would have liked to see more guidance on which strategies are most appropriate for which situations.